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Photos, which go from 8 by 10 inches to 40 by 60 inches, range from a biology teacher helping two students to a child development class to students playing soccer or golf, marching in the school band or taking part in the school production of Aida.

"Diversity is the main idea of the montages" Bethel High School science teacher
Silvia Nedelcov
said of the academic, cultural and athletic activities in the photos.

The photos, Nedelcov said, also capture the atmosphere of the school. "The kids feel free to express themselves. They're focused but not stressed."

The three montages, principal Cosentino said, were paid for with $7,600 in donations from the Bethel High School class of 2007.

Visual Impact
in Danbury, a fine art printing and display firm, created and installed the montages from photos - both professional and amateur - given to the company by the school which in turn got many of them from the yearbook, school staff, and parents.

Bill McCann
, president of Visual Impact, said that after printing and mounting the photos, "we used the mounted photos as building blocks or tiles, gluing them on top of each other following our digital layout. It is really like making a very large 3D puzzle."

The montages, which are mounted on unseen custom wooden frames, seem to float in air on the wall.

Single photos of students and faculty, each 24 by 36 inches, also were printed and framed by Visual Impact and adorn the walls of the addition. Display of the single photos was made possible by donations from the class of 2008, Cosentino said.

"We're trying to get the building to come alive," Cosentino said of the renovation and expansion project that has been going on for two years and is nearly complete. A ribbon cutting ceremony is planned for March 7.

"They depict everything that goes on here,"
Pauline Goolkasian
, chairman of special education at the high school, said about the montages and single photos. "It gives the students a sense of belonging," she said, "and pulls us all together."

For high school senior Bobby Manere, the photos are a plus for the building. "Before it was kind of empty. It felt weird."

Steven Kiley
, a 17-year-old senior, had a unique take on the montages. "They're like a yearbook. Now anyone can walk into the school and we can share the memories with anyone who walks by."